Women’s Soccer Headed to Second Round of NCAA Playoffs

After coming off of an amazing regular season and once again entering the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament, the Penn State women’s soccer team fought to a 6-0 victory in the first round against local rival, the Bucknell Bisons. With the win, Penn State has played Bucknell three times in the NCAA playoffs, coming out on top each time.

The Nittany Lions started the game with momentum, scoring the first goal of the game in just the 15th minute from senior Nickolette Driesse. Sophomore Charlotte Williams also added a goal with five minutes left in the first half to give Penn State a comfortable 2-0 lead going into the break.

In the second half, Penn State had a dominant offensive effort, scoring four goals while keeping a clean slate on defense. Williams was able to pick-up a second goal while Haleigh Echard, Marissa Sheva, and Megan Schafer all added tallies for the Nittany Lions.

On defense, goalkeepers Amanda Dennis and Sarafina Valenti combined for three saves and the Nittany Lions earned their ninth shutout of the season.

“I just want to start off by saying congratulations to Bucknell on an amazing season,” head coach Erica Dambach said after the game. “It is obviously a great accomplishment to win the Patriot League, and they certainly came in here and played very well tonight. I also want to say that obviously this is the perfect way to end the home season on Jeffrey Field, in front of another great crowd, and with Nickolette Driesse having the game winner on her final home game in her senior year. We also had a shutout so I think that we we’re firing on all cylinders tonight.”

The 2015 NCAA champions Penn State are headed to the second round of the tournament and will take on the No. 3 seed Virginia at Shaw Field in Washington, D.C. this Friday, November 18, at 11 a.m. Penn State will look to keep their hot streak going and try to bring home the championship for the second year in a row.

Adriana Lacy is a sophomore student at Penn State University. She is pursuing a degree in Public Relations and Journalism. In addition to her love for Penn State sports, Adriana enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and hanging out with her friends. A contributor to the Lions Pride Sports Blog for both men's and women's soccer, she can be reached at [email protected]